Medicine
A medicine cat's main job is to heal their fellow Clanmates. They have many ways of doing so, mostly through herbs and berries. The Medicines and Herbs Alder Bark :The bark may be used to treat tooth aches. Borage Leaves :Small plant with pink or blue flowers and hairy leaves. Chewed and eaten by nursing queens for producing better milk. Also treats fevers. Can be easily identified by its star shaped flowers. Burdock Root :Tall stemmed thistle with a sharp smell and dark leaves. When dug up and washed off, it is chewed into a pulp, and put on wounds inflicted by rats to keep them from becoming infected. Can also be used on infected rat bites to lessen and heal the pain. Catmint/Catnip :A leafy and delicious-smelling plant, rarely found in the wild. Mostly found in Twoleg gardens. Best remedy for the deadly greencough. Celandine :This herb can be used to soothe the eyes. Chamomile :This herb strengthens the heart and calms the mind. Chervil :Sweet smelling plant, which has large fern-like leaves with small white flowers . When the leaves are chewed, the juice can be placed on wounds to prevent or heal infection, while the root can be chewed to cure bellyache . In the old forest, the best place to find chervil was Snakerocks . Chickweed :Like catmint/catnip, it can be used to treat greencough. Cobwebs :Very common in the forest, just be careful not to bring the spider along with you! Put it on a wound to soak up and stop (or slow) the bleeding. It may also be used to bind broken bones. Coltsfoot :A flowering, dandelion-like plant with yellow or white flowers. The leaves are chewed into a pulp, and given to cats with difficulty breathing or a cough. It also can be used to treat kitten-cough, as well as cracked or sore pads. Comfrey :Large leaves and small, bell-shaped flowers, which range in color from pink, white, or purple. Its fat, black-colored roots, when chewed into a poultice, can be used to repair broken bones or to soothe wounds. Daisy Leaf :Jayfeather brought a daisy leaf to Mousefur to smell, thinking it might be the mystery herb that Leafpool mixed in with the tansy. Daisy Leaves are thick, dark green, oval shaped leaves. Chewed into a paste, it can help aching joints. Dandelions :The white liquid inside the stem is used for bee stings. Its roots can also be chewed to act like poppy seeds. Dock :Similar to sorrel, the leaves can be chewed up and applied to soothe scratches. To apply, chew it into a pulp, and lick the juice onto the wound, and then spit the remains of the leaf out. Also good for sore pads and nettle stings. Dried Oak Leaf :Most readily available in autumn, the leaves are stored in a dry place, and can stop infection when applied. Feverfew :Small bush with flowers like a daisy. The leaves can be eaten to reduce body temperature, especially cats with fever or chills. Also heals aches and headaches. Goldenrod :A tall, plant with bright, yellow flowers. When chewed into a poultice, it is good for healing wounds . Heather Flower :It can be included in herbal mixtures, to make it easier to swallow . Honey :A tasteless (to cats, as mentioned in Eclipse), golden-colored liquid that is made by bees. While difficult to obtain without being stung, it is great for soothing infections, sore throats, or cats who have breathed smoke. Also helps cats swallow other medicine. Horsetail :A tall, bristly-stemmed plant that grows in marshy areas, like ShadowClan's forest territory or the marshes near the island in the lake territories. The leaves can be chewed into a poultice, and applied to infected wounds to help treat them. Juniper Berries :Juniper berries grow on a bush with dark green, spiky leaves. The berries are purple in color, and can soothe bellyaches, give strength, and help troubled breathing. Lamb's Ear :Commonly found in the mountains, this herb gives a cat strength. This herb was discovered first by the tribe cats and then when the Clans were resting in their territory, Stoneteller told Leafpaw about this herb. Lavender :A small, purple, flowering plant that cures fever and chills. Mallow :The leaves are best collected at sunhigh, when they are dry. It soothes a cat's belly. Marigold :A low-growing flower that is bright orange or yellow in color. The petals or leaves can be chewed into a pulp and applied to wounds as a poultice to stop infection . It could be used to treat rat bites, but it's sometimes not strong enough. Mouse Bile :Extracted from the mouse. The only remedy for ticks, mouse bile is foul smelling, and is stored in moss. When dabbed on a tick, the tick falls off. Smell can be masked by wild garlic, or by washing paws in running water. If accidentally swallowed, can leave a horrible taste in mouth for days. Medicine cats always have to remember to wash their paws in a body of water after using mouse bile. Nettle Seed :Like yarrow, can be used if a cat has swallowed poison. Parsley :Stops a queen from producing milk if her kits die or don't need milk anymore. It is what leads Jayfeather to figure out that Leafpool is their real mother. Poppy Seeds :Small black seeds that are shaken out of a dried poppy flower head. They can put a cat to sleep, or soothe shock and distress, but is not recommended to nursing queens. They are given by wetting the paw, pressing on them, causing them to stick to the paw, and then having the sick or injured cat lick them off. Another method is to place them on a leaf, and have the sick or injured cat lick them off from there. They also help soothe pain . Ragwort Leaves :Crushed and mixed into a poultice with juniper berries, it can help aching joints. It can also be used to keep a cat's strength up.Such as in The Fourth Apprentice when Jayfeather gives it to the elders to help the through the drought. (page 26) Ragweed :Like lamb's ear, this herb, commonly found in the mountains, gives a cat strength, and was first discovered by the tribe cats, later being told to Leafpool by Stoneteller when the Clans were resting in their territory. Raspberry Leaves :An herb used in kittings, Featherwhisker used it at Leopardfoot's kitting in Bluestar's Prophecy. It could be a painkiller, or to help stop bleeding during the kitting. Rush :This herb is used to bind broken bones. It has long narrow leaves and lavender colored head stalks. Stinging Nettle :The leaves, when applied to a wound, can bring down swelling. The spiny green seeds can be given to a cat who has been poisoned by crowfood, Twoleg waste, or other toxic objects. Snakeroot :The best remedy for poison, especially for snake bites. Tansy :The tansy plant has round, yellow leaves, and a very sweet and strong smell, making it good at disguising a cat's scent. It is used for curing coughs, but must be eaten in small doses. Thyme :This herb can be eaten to calm nervousness, anxiety, and cats who are in shock. Traveling Herbs :Traveling Herbs consists of sorrel, daisy, chamomile and burnet. Chamomile strengthens hearts, and calms cats. The other herbs are unknown. Watermint :A green, leafy plant found in streams or damp earth. Usually chewed into a pulp and fed to cats with suffering from a bellyache. Wild Garlic :When rolled in, it can help prevent infection. Especially good for rat bites. Due to its strong smell, it is good at hiding the scent of a certain Clan, and disguising cats on raids. Willow Bark :This bark serves as a painkiller. Yarrow :A flowering plant whose leaves can be made into a poultice, and applied to wounds to extract poison. Also will make a cat vomit. This was used on Sorrelkit when Darkstripe fed her deathberries. The ointment of yarrow can also be used to soften and help heal cracked paw pads. Poisons Nightshade :Mentioned when Fireheart and Cinderpaw are with Cloudkit. Cloudkit almost eats some deathberries (see below for the later), but is quickly stopped by Cinderpaw. When Cloudkit runs off and calls them to see what he found, she jokes in response that "maybe it's deadly nightshade this time." Nightshade is extremely toxic to cats and twolegs, being capable of killing a full-grown human in under fourty-five minutes. Deathberries/Yew berries/Night Seeds ::Main Article: Deathberries :They are first seen in Forest of Secrets when Cloudkit, Fireheart, and Cinderpaw are looking for medicine. Cloudkit finds them and attempts to eat them but Cinderpaw tackles him and tells him if he had eaten those berries he would be dead. Later used by Yellowfang to kill Brokentail in Forest of Secrets, deathberries are an extremely poisonous species of red berries, and are known to Twolegs as yew berries''. They nearly killed Sorrelkit when Darkstripe fed them to her in ''The Darkest Hour. The Tribe calls them Night Seeds, when they are used in a plan to kill the mountain lion, Sharptooth, in the book Moonrise. Deathberries were used to tempt the snake that killed Honeyfern in Sunrise. They were also used by Hollyleaf to threaten Leafpool. Holly Berries :Holly berries, while not as dangerous as deathberries, are still a danger to kits. They make an appearance in Twilight; after Leafpool talks to Crowfeather, Sorreltail finds her hiding in a holly bush. Leafpool says she is looking for berries and Sorreltail asks, "Aren't they poisonous?" Foxglove seeds :Foxglove seeds are known to be a dangerous medicine. While they can help the heart, they can easily cause paralysis and heart failure. Can be mistaken for poppy seeds. Mentioned when Yellowfang says to Cinderpelt, "You're a dangerous medicine cat! You could kill a cat by confusing foxglove seeds and poppy seeds!" See Also *Medicine Cat *Diseases and Injuries References and Citations Category:Reference